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slyly - 3 dictionary results

sly

  [slahy] adjective, sly⋅er or sli⋅er, sly⋅est or sli⋅est, noun
Use slyly in a Sentence
–adjective
1. cunning or wily: sly as a fox.
2. stealthy, insidious, or secret.
3. playfully artful, mischievous, or roguish: sly humor.
—Idiom
4. on the sly, secretly; furtively: a tryst on the sly.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME sly, sley < ON slœgr sly, cunning

Related forms:
slyly, slily, adverb
slyness, noun

Synonyms:
1. artful, subtle, foxy, crafty, shrewd, astute. 2. surreptitious, furtive, underhand, clandestine.

Antonyms:
1. direct, obvious.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To slyly
sly   (slī)   
adj.   sli·er (slī'ər) also sly·er, sli·est (slī'ěst) also sly·est
  1. Clever or cunning, especially in the practice of deceit.
  2. Stealthy or surreptitious: took a sly look at the letter on the table.
  3. Playfully mischievous: a sly laugh.

[Middle English sleigh, from Old Norse slɶgr.]
sly'ly adv., sly'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slyly

Sly"ly\, adv. In a sly manner; shrewdly; craftily.

Honestly and slyly he it spent. --Chaucer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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